Welcome

Welcome to the POZ/AIDSmeds Community Forums, a round-the-clock discussion area for people with HIV/AIDS, their friends/family/caregivers, and
others concerned about HIV/AIDS. Click on the links below to browse our various forums; scroll down for a glance at the most recent posts; or join in the
conversation yourself by registering on the left side of this page.

Privacy Warning: Please realize that these forums are open to all, and are fully searchable via Google and other search engines. If you are HIV positive
and disclose this in our forums, then it is almost the same thing as telling the whole world (or at least the World Wide Web). If this concerns you, then do not use a
username or avatar that are self-identifying in any way. We do not allow the deletion of anything you post in these forums, so think before you post.

The information shared in these forums, by moderators and members, is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between an individual and his/her own
physician.

All members of these forums are, by default, not considered to be licensed medical providers. If otherwise, users must clearly define themselves as such.

Forums members must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Posting guidelines, including time-out and banning policies, have been established by the moderators
of these forums. Click here for “Am I Infected?” posting guidelines. Click here for posting guidelines pertaining to all other POZ/AIDSmeds community forums.

We ask all forums members to provide references for health/medical/scientific information they provide, when it is not a personal experience being discussed. Please
provide hyperlinks with full URLs or full citations of published works not available via the Internet. Additionally, all forums members must post information which are
true and correct to their knowledge.

Finished Reading This? You can collapse this or any other box on this page by clicking the
symbol in each box.

Welcome to Am I Infected

IMPORTANT UPDATE
Posted Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Welcome to the "Am I Infected?" POZ forum.

New members -- those who have posted three or fewer messages -- are permitted to post questions and responses, free of charge (make them count!). Ongoing participation in the "Am I Infected?" forum -- posting more than three questions or responses -- requires a paid subscription.

A seven-day subscription
is $9.99, a 30-day subscription is $14.99 and a 90-day subscription is $24.99.

Anyone who needs to post more than three messages in the "Am I Infected?" forum -- including past, present and future POZ Forums members -- will need to subscribe, with
secure payments made via PayPal.

There will be no charge to continue reading threads in the
"Am I Infected?" forum, nor will there be a charge for participating
in any of the Main Forums; Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits; and Off Topic
Forums. Similarly, all POZ and AIDSmeds pages,
including our "How is HIV
Transmitted?" and "Am I Infected? (A
Guide to Testing for HIV)" lessons, will remain accessible to
all.

NOTE: HIV testing questions will still need to be posted in the "Am I
Infected?" forum; attempts to post HIV symptoms or testing questions in any other forums will be considered violations of our rules of membership and subject to time-outs and permanent bans.

To learn how to upgrade your Forums account
to participate beyond three posts in the "Am I Infected?" Forum, please click here.

Thank you for your understanding
and future support of the best online support service for people living with,
affected by and at risk for HIV.

Author
Topic: pap smear (Read 3336 times)

Just wondering....I went to a new gynecologist recently and the doctor used a metal speculum for the pap smear. I am used to a a plastic disposable one so I freaked. Is there any chance of being HIV infected assuming the technician did not sterilize the speculum properly? I am pretty confident in this office due to the fact that they are a reputable group. But in any case asssuming the tech made a mistake is there a chance of infection with a cross contamination of vaginal fluids so close to the cervix being on the speculum . Thanks in advance!

Thank you .I do assume that it was strerilised, They are a reputable office. But what if the tech did not sterilise efficiently enough ...would vaginal fluids that remain on the speculum contain enough viable virus to infect the next patient..

Yes I have ...its funny you mention this because I told him in his office before the exam that I had some fear issues with hiv...ok I guess more like ocd issues ...then when we got to the exam and he took out the speculum he immediately assured me that it was clean....I still freaked a bit ...but its not the doc I worry about after all its not him that sterilising these things....rather a tech thats why I ask assuming they did not do a good enough job at sterilising if it were a risk.....thanks

As Matty said...the answer is no you have nothing to be worried about. Matty is brutally honest....he's delicious.

The Dr doesn't necessarily hire the lab techs that sterilize equipment. Lab techs have very specific procedures because they work in certified labs. Your Dr likely gets his equipment from certified labs (and stop it...there aren't labs that supply that kind of thing that aren't certified). Autoclaving is very specific and very carefully done. If your Dr has his own autoclave and everything himself....congrats he would still have to be certified and ensure proper medical device management.....seriously. Labs have to be managed and certified and audited. I've been a lab manager in various settings...trust me what you have to go through is unreal.

To make it more clear for you, now lets walk through this: you are thinking the person before you had HIV, and that HIV managed to survive a bad autoclaving, make its way back to you and end up giving you HIV. Uh....no! Think about how gross that would be to use a dirty speculum in the first place...you really think your Dr would allow such a thing? NO. Even if it was a dirty speculum......it wouldn't transmit HIV to you because the HIV would be inactive by that point anyway.

Really, chill out, its not how the medical field works.....medical devices and their management....very serious.

Hi all. Just a general question for the experts. As you can tell by now I do have a great fear of this disease. My question is ...I was looking in the just tested poz forum and there seemed to be a number of people who were stunned by their results. Of course anyone would be but many of these people say they had no idea how they would have contracted this virus. Some say they only had oral sex...very low risk....some even say they were celebate....no one seemed to mention being in healthcare. One person can only recall being hit in the arm with what they thought might have been a sharp object. I've read the transmission section and with the support of all the experts I am trying to get past my fears of other possible ways of transmission...but when i read these posts it freaked me out a little. How could this be, none of these seem to fit the bill for transmission...so what to think now?

So what to think now? You need to keep your nose out of "I Just Tested Poz Forum." Some of those are in denial and have no idea how they really contracted HIV. Some don't even have HIV but are there just to fulfill their time. As we've told you, you didn't get infected by getting a pap smear. You don't get infected from environmental exposures.

Hi. Hate to be a pest. i was wondering if vacutainer tube holders can be reused from one person to the next. The part I'm talking about is the plastic piece that holds the blood collection tubes during a blood test. Ive seen this question come up before and it has happened to me. I've seen the tubes with visible specks of blood on it from previous use of other people. When I questioned the doctor or nurse Ive been told this is not an issue because this piece never touches the needle. Is that true ? Would i'd be at risk for hiv. I'm sure the tubes are exposed to air between patients.Would this be enough time to inactivate the virus on a drop or two of blood? Thanks for your support.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Hi . Thanks for the support in the past. I have a quick question. I was in a store and someone was looking at an item in the store they put it down and I picked up the same item a few seconds later , I noticed the palm of my hand had cracked and bled when I looked down(due to excema). When I got home I unpacked the items and noticed a smear of blood on the item the other person handled. Assuming it was their blood and my cut touched it would I be at risk for HIV. Thanks again.

No you wouldn't be at risk of contracting HIV under those circumstances. Honey, I really think it's time you sought the advice of a mental health professional regarding your unfounded fears of HIV infection.